August 23, 2010

Seven Dimensions: Conformity (Part 5 of 8)

Part 5:This is the fifth of eight posts on how to measure data quality.This post describes why conformity is a good measure and how it’s used.

Conformity refers to information matching an internal or external standard.For example, with job titles you may have an internal list of titles to use, the data must conform to one these values.This could also apply to department names, honorifics, product names, etc.

For external conformity, addressing is a good example.You wish all your addresses to be matched to Royal Mail’s Postal Address File.For business names, you may want all your names to match company records at companies House.For industry codes, you may want them to follow the standard industry SIC Codes and their descriptions.

Measuring conformity against internal standards can be improved by improving you applications to enter only those values that are valid.For external conformity standards, data capture software and batch software using industry standard reference files is a good way to enforce this rule.

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Seven Dimensions: Conformity (Part 5 of 8)

Part 5:This is the fifth of eight posts on how to measure data quality.This post describes why conformity is a good measure and how it’s used.

Conformity refers to information matching an internal or external standard.For example, with job titles you may have an internal list of titles to use, the data must conform to one these values.This could also apply to department names, honorifics, product names, etc.

For external conformity, addressing is a good example.You wish all your addresses to be matched to Royal Mail’s Postal Address File.For business names, you may want all your names to match company records at companies House.For industry codes, you may want them to follow the standard industry SIC Codes and their descriptions.

Measuring conformity against internal standards can be improved by improving you applications to enter only those values that are valid.For external conformity standards, data capture software and batch software using industry standard reference files is a good way to enforce this rule.